Thank you for saying that we do not worship her, that is very important not to do. I have heard so many people in my life saying that Catholics worship her and don't listen to what I say. Well said! Thank you and God bless you.. .Gary
To pray is simply to make a request, either on our own behalf or on behalf of someone else. When we pray for someone else, we intercede for them, making a request on their behalf. Shakespeare's plays are littered with phrases like Pray tell or Pray do this, that or the other. Do people who equate prayer with worship believe that Shakespeare's characters worshiped each other? Those of us who believe in the Communion of Saints believe the promise of Jesus that those who do the will of the Father will have eternal life, therefore, all saints in Heaven are alive awaiting the reunification of body and soul. Mary and all the saints are in the presence of God, and we know from the Bible that the prayers of the righteous are powerful. Are not the saints in Heaven righteous? And, of all human creatures, who could be more righteous than the Mother of Jesus our Lord and Saviour? So why wouldn't we ask (pray) the righteous in Heaven to intercede for us, just as we ask sinners here on earth to pray for us? Sometimes when I pray to the Blessed Mother, I think of her sitting at the right hand of Jesus who has been given all power over Heaven and Earth. I think of her whispering in her Son's ear saying something like "I know she doesn't deserve that favour, but please grant it as a favour to me". Mothers do that all the time, and Jesus gave us Mary as our mother. Other times when I pray to Mary, I imagine her kneeling before God, worshiping Him and adding her prayers to mine. We are saved by grace through faith, so it's in our own interests that we ask all those in Heaven to pray for God to shower us with extra grace to help us conform our lives to His will. It makes sense to me that when I struggle with doing God's will to ask Mary and the saints to pray for God to give me some more grace to either do what He wills or to open my eyes to what is His will in a given situation. If I say to Mary, please add your prayers to mine as I pray the Our Father for some request, that makes two of us asking for God's will to be done in my life, and the righteous one isn't me. Really, it's a win-win for those of us who ask (pray) Mary and/or any saint to intercede with Jesus on our behalf. What's not to like?
This may be of help to you: Dulia and Hyperdulia: Do Catholics Really Worship Mary? Kathy Schiffer https://www.patheos.com/blogs/kathy...-hyperdulia-do-catholics-really-worship-mary/ Repeat after me: Catholics do not worship Mary. Catholics do not worship Mary. Catholics do not worship Mary. I mention this because that scurrilous claim has turned up several times recently in my comment boxes. The accusation has shown up in response to various posts, tossed in by some well-meaning, God-fearing Christian who wants to protect society from the Catholic Church. In his or her mind, prayer to the Mother of God is the ultimate evidence of apostasy: The Bible clearly says that we should have no false gods, and by gosh (he thinks), praying to Mary is just off-the-charts idolatry. Why, doesn’t Exodus 34:14 mean ANYTHING to you? Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God. Exodus 34:14 (NIV) So let’s talk about it. The Catholic Church teaches that God alone is worthy of worship. However, there are those among us who, because of their heroic virtue, are deserving of acclaim and honor. This is true in everyday society. A best-selling author, an actor, an athlete, a favorite teacher–all, by virtue of their excellence in a field of endeavor, earn your acclaim and respect. So, too, in the spiritual realm: We hold in high regard those who, by their virtuous lives, have demonstrated how to better love God and our fellow man. We call those virtuous people whose lives we admire, and who are now in heaven with Christ, “saints.” And Mary, Jesus’ mother, is even more deserving of our admiration and praise. The Church teaches that there are three types of honor which are due to those who are holy: Dulia. This is the honor and recognition which we accord to the saints. Perhaps they died as martyrs rather than deny God; or they worked great miracles, since their friendship with God meant that He granted their prayers for healing or restoration; or they simply, as Therese of Lisieux, lived holiness in their own “little way.” Hyperdulia. This is, to put it simply, lots and lots of dulia. This is the very special honor we accord to Mary, the Mother of God. Latria. This is true worship, and is given only to God. St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church, writing in his Summa Theologiae (II-II, q. 103, a. 4; III, q. 25, a. 5), explained: “In more technical terms used by the Tradition to draw this important distinction, devotion to Mary belongs to the veneration of dulia, or the homage and honor owed to the saints, both angelic and human in heaven, and not to latria, or the adoration and worship that can be given only to the Triune God and the Son incarnate. Because of her unique relationship to Christ in salvation history, however, the special degree of devotion due to Mary has traditionally been called hyperdulia. While latria is owed to her Son by reason of unity of his divine and human natures in the Person of the Word made flesh, hyperdulia is due to Mary as truly his Mother.” One of Catholicism’s most frequently uttered prayers is the Hail Mary. But is this idolatry? No–it’s Scripture. The words are drawn from the greeting in Luke 1:28, when the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary to tell her that she had been chosen to be the Mother of God: Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. And from Luke 1:42, the words spoken by Mary’s cousin Elizabeth: Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb… So no, Catholics don’t worship Mary. In our prayer, we ask Mary to intercede for us with her Son. And He will listen because, as James 5:16 tells us, The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. But did you ever meet someone who really doesn’t understand the important difference in how we pray to God and how we pray to Mary and the saints? Catholic apologist Steve Ray, himself a convert to the Catholic faith, has published an excellent treatise on Protestant misconceptions regarding Mary and worship. In it he explains that even if some people within the Church don’t fully understand the Church’s teaching on Mary, that doesn’t obliterate the truth of that teaching. Steve writes: If some Catholics fail to follow the Church’s teaching on these matters it certainly doesn’t impinge on the teaching of the Church. It merely means that some in the Church are uncatechized and not understanding or practicing what the Church teaches. You can read the rest of Steve’s article here. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God, That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. Image : KNITTING MADONNA by Meister Bertram von Minden [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
This is my fault! I started the whole debate due to the posting on FB from a deacon. I think the confusion is the names of prayers say "prayer to St.Michael, to St.Joseph, to Mary, Blessed Mother" etc. Just like when the Angel Gabriel saw Mary, he said, "Hail Mary", calling out to her. If you look at the literal definition of prayer, it says to pray to a deity or God. However, in the context of praying to the Saints, or Mary our prayers are transformed into petitions taken to and presented to God. So in essence we pray that they take our prayers to God. We only worship God . . . I would not correct the Deacon at this point because I think his whole dialogue went over the heads of anyone who read it. I am reading all the responses and find them beautiful and inspiring.
Praying to Mary took a long time for me to warm up to. I admired her, loved her, loved to think about her, thanked Jesus for her, but could not bring myself to pray to / address her. Too scary! A very kind, wise Orthodox friend suggested that I start with the Angelic Salutation. "Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with Thee!" Why not just start with the Angelic Salutation? One of the things that Protestantism has robbed us of is a very real understanding of the Communion of Saints. We got some good hymns out of the Reformation, but lost a heck of a lot. It is sad. She's alive in Heaven, she's our Mom, all the Christian Saints are alive with Christ in Heaven, we're all One with and in Him whether in Heaven or still down here on earth, so it's ok to talk to her! And ask her for things. God is glorified through her.
Hi Gary, Yes, go to Mary! As you would your own Mother! She´s always there. Pray to her, talk to her, complain to her. When I pray to Mother I feel I become like a little child - I think God loves this! Try this: pray to her for a week - then come back and let us know how it turned out - you might be surprised! Btw I´ve checked out some of your posts - I absolutely love them! They convey true faith, warmth, trust and are very uplifting. Welcome, a thousand times welcome to the forum! What a great addition you are! I see you are in Massachusetts. I lived in Mass years ago (Scituate) - love New England!
Thank you for this and with my faith I know what you said is true. My mother has long since passed but not our blessed mother. She has returned to help save us all. God bless you and all that you do.. .Gary
Strange, praying to Mary has also been hard for me. I do lots of Hail Mary’s but directly talk to her.,.is very hard for me. You might say well she’s your mother. Yes, but there’s lots of things I wouldn’t tell my mom. Mostly because I’m ashamed. Our Holy Mother is the greatest and most powerful saint. Queen of Heaven and Earth. Hated by the created one more then Jesus himself. The true power of humility. But the strength of being the mother of God. So, much love for humanity. May Gods Will be Done.
We are all human. We are all sinners. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. We have Gods word in the Bible and carried it with us for over two thousand years since Jesus was born and died for us. We all need help with our faith our blessed mother and her son know this and so she is sent to help us. To help us in our faith and teach us how to pray for each other. God knows we need much help in this. God bless. . Gary
